The First Day
by gracey97
Summary: The first day at a new job is meant to be scary for everyone, right? Especially, when you've spent 9 years training for it! Although Ellie Lawson may appear like a normal person, who has had a normal life, she is far from it. But when she starts a new job - something that she's wanted do since she was 11 - how will others react when they find out the real truth about who she is?
1. The First Day

**(This is my first ever fic, so please R+R and tell me what you think!)**

As I walked around the corner of the long and windy road that lead to the great Holby City General, I had no idea what to expect I'd spent 2 extra years training to be an Emergency Medicine specialist doctor, whilst training to be a paediatrician also, and I didn't even know whether I would like it or not! I'd wanted to be a doctor since my first time in a hospital, aged 11 years old.

I know I'm different to any other doctor there has ever been, but I've never let it stop me! Who cares if I'm a different age to all of the others, I'm just doing what I've always wanted! Nothing can stop me.

I walked the final few steps around the corner and there stood in front of me, towering over everyone like a large yellow giant, was Holby City General Hospital. I'd heard a lot about it, read stuff in the papers about amazing medical research that was going on in their labs. I couldn't wait to get started in what I hoped would be a lifetime career for me. I felt a stream of adrenaline rush through my body then and I knew that I had to do it. There was no question about it, I had to face my fears and go in there.

Slowly, I made my way through the entrance of the Emergency Department where I'd be working and went up to the reception. "Excuse me…" I said nervously.  
"Hello. How can I help you?" A friendly voice replied. I read from his name tag that he was called Noel.  
"I'm looking for Mr Jordan; it's my first day here. Do you know where I can find him?"  
"Straight down the corridor on the right."  
"Thanks!" I said. I just hoped everyone was as kind as he was.

The corridor was long and I was carefully scanning the right hand side of it, afraid I may miss it. I narrowly avoided being hit by a trolley when I saw it. I knocked on the door. My hand shook as I did this; I'd never been so nervous before!

"Come in!" a voice shouted back. I opened the door with my shaky hands and peered inside.  
"Hi. My name's Ellie Lawson, I'm starting here today."  
"Dr Lawson, hi, I'm Nick Jordan. I'm clinical lead." No one had ever called me Dr Lawson before and it felt strange but amazing at the same time! "Come in, take a seat"

I shut the door behind me and sat down on a chair in front of his desk. Strangely, I wasn't as nervous as before, yet I was sat inside my new boss's office. He picked up some papers and I could see through them that it said my name. It was just my test results and stats, so it didn't bother me at all.  
"It says here that you're an Emergency Medicine specialist and also a paediatrician, but that must be wrong because you're only 21 years old!"  
"It's not wrong, I was 15 when I started med school." I said, trying not to sound blunt. I hated telling people this, as I had been bullied because of it, but I knew that I would have to say it and would have to answer the questions that followed.  
"Oh, sorry I didn't know!" He said, I could tell by his voice that it was the first time he'd heard and he wasn't just checking to make sure it really was true.  
"It's fine! You're not the first to say!" It was true, I'd been asked about it for years, so I guess I'm not as annoyed about it as I used to be.

"Can I ask you, why did you do the specialist course straight away, even though you didn't know whether you'd like it or not?" He asked.  
"Partly, because I love the way that you could be treating literally anything, from cuts to car crashes! But also because I didn't want to face being the youngest again, I want to be the same age as other doctors coming out from med school."  
"Okay, I see what you mean. Well, I can't mentor you today as I have board meetings all day, so you're going to be working in cubicles with Dr Tom Kent. He's the ED's paediatric specialist and, if you stay here, together you will be the ED's paediatric specialists. So, that's all I need to tell you other than there are some scrubs in your locker and I will send Tom up to meet you there in about 15 minutes!" I was buzzing now, excited that I was so close to doing what I'd wanted to do for so long.  
"Okay, thanks!"  
"Good luck!"

**(So, what do you think? I know it's not very long but it's just to get the story started! Just a warning that this may not be updated for a while, as I'm not sure where this is going and I'm just writing what comes to me!)**


	2. Tom

I made my way back through the corridor, this time looking out for anything moving quickly towards me, and back into the reception. On the right of me I saw a door with a sign on it saying 'STAFF ROOM'. I walked over to it and put the code in.

Inside was a sink, some cupboards, a sofa at the far end of the room and there were a line of lockers along one side. I found the correct locker and put in the code. It clicked open and inside were some green scrubs, my pager and a copy of my shift timetable. Also, sat at the back was my brand new stethoscope. It was orange and as I picked it up I felt another stream of adrenaline rush through my body; this really was actually happening! I put them in my bag and left the timetable in there as I already had a copy. I closed the locker and went to the toilets to get changed.

When I returned there was still no one in there. Once again, I opened my locker and put my things in. I clipped my pager to my trousers and put my stethoscope around my neck. As I did this I smiled, I was still sure that I was dreaming!

Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door and a man in green scrubs walked in. He was tall, had light-brown hair and was wearing a red stethoscope around his neck. I assumed this was Tom.

"You're Ellie, right?" He said. He sounded pretty friendly!  
"Yeah! I'm guessing that means you're Tom then?"  
"You guessed right!" He said, with a smile on his face as he held his hand out to me. I shook it and smiled; I was right about the friendly part!

I shut my locker as he walked in and shut the door behind him. "So, you're 21, you're a paediatric emergency medicine specialist and you started med school when you were 15!" He said, as if he was being quizzed.  
"Someone's been listening!" I exclaimed! Not many people could remember even that much about me!

"So, are you ready to enter the wonderful world of cubicles?" He said in the most sensible voice he could. That wasn't easy for him as it wasn't exactly the most normal question ever!  
"As ready as I'll ever be!" I laughed!

We walked out of the staff room and through the double doors just around the corner. There was another corridor and as we walked down it and through the doors at the end, he explained to me that he would be with me all the time for the first week until he knew that I'd be alright on my own and that if I needed any help I had to ask.

Just hearing that made me once again nervous. He could see that and he asked me if I was ok. "I'm fine, sorry! I'm just nervous." I said.  
"You'll be fine!" He reassured me as we reached the desk.

"So, where do you want to start? Easy, hard?"  
"Anything you like!" I really didn't mind what he gave me; I just wanted to get started!  
"How about this? Arm laceration, it just needs some stitches so it should be pretty simple!"  
"Sure!" I said in agreement.

"Ok, so I'll introduce us whilst you prepare the kit," He told me, he laughed when he saw the nervous look on my face, "I've told you, you'll be fine!" This made me smile as we walked over to the patient in bed 3.

The patient was a young man aged 24 and he had a large cut on his arm. As I prepared the kit, Tom introduced us. "Hi, I'm Dr Kent and this is Dr Lawson. Dr Lawson is going to stitch your arm up and then you're free to go!"  
"So why are you here then?" The man asked Tom.  
"I'm just observing." He replied.  
Nothing more was said after that.

I put the kit down on the bed and prepared the anaesthetic. "Sharp scratch." I said as I placed the needle into the wound. The man winced. "We've just got to wait for the anaesthetic to kick in and then we can begin!" It told him.  
"How long will that take?" He replied.  
"About 2 minutes."  
"Okay."

"So how did you do this?" Tom asked.  
"I caught it on a nail at work." The patient replied. I wasn't sure whether I believed him or not, but it wasn't serious so it didn't really matter that much.

"I'm going to start, okay?" I told him.  
"Yeah." He didn't sound very pleased, but then you wouldn't if you were about to have stitches in your arm!

I stitched his arm quickly as I found it surprisingly easy! "Done!"  
"Thanks, can I go now?" He asked me in a hurry.  
"You've just got to sign some paperwork, THEN, you can go." I told him. He wasn't going anywhere until I had finished with him!

I put the things I had used where they needed to go whilst Tom found the necessary paperwork.  
"Nearly there!" He said and I laughed.

I signed where I needed to and then told the man where he needed to sign. He signed it and before I knew it he asked if he could go. "Yes, you can go now!" I told him. I wasn't sure why he wanted to go so soon but I wasn't going to stop him!

We walked to the desk and watched as he walked out of the room. I'd never seen anyone walk out of a hospital so quickly!

"Nice work," Tom told me, "I've never seen such neat stitches!"  
"Right!" I laughed. "I'm pretty sure you have!"  
"I'm not, that was amazing!"  
"Umm... Thanks!" I was quite amazed that someone had just congratulated me on my stitches!

"What next?" Tom asked me.  
"Anything!" I replied!


	3. Silence

The rest of the day was pretty much the same; all simple. I was glad about that though because it meant that I couldn't really do anything wrong. Tom stayed with me though and I was also very pleased about that as then if I did do anything wrong, he would be there to make it right again. He was really nice to me and we got on really well.

Soon enough it was the end of the day and I didn't want it to end! It had gone quickly; quicker than I'd expected anyway.

Tom and I walked over to the desk after discharging our last patient of the day. "That's us done for the day!" He told me as I signed the last bit of paperwork. I laughed and we walked out of cubicles and down the corridor.

As we walked into the reception I laughed in amazement at the amount of people still waiting to be seen. "What?" Tom asked me, interested about what I found funny.  
"There are still so many people here!" I told him; he laughed.  
"It'll be like this for another hour or so, by then people will have been seen or will just come back tomorrow if it's not urgent."  
"Oh, right."

By this time we had reached the staff room. I needed the loo, so I opened my locker and took out my bag and left only my shift timetable and stethoscope in there. "Back in a minute!" I told Tom as I shut my locker and walked out of the room.

I returned just as Tom was shutting his locker. "Where do you live?" He asked me.  
"I've just moved into a bungalow around the corner. Bakers street, number 21."  
"No way! That's opposite me!"  
"So, you're number 14 then?"  
"Yeah!" He said. How had I not seen him this morning?

"Where shall I meet you tomorrow?" I asked him.  
"Well, seeing as you live opposite me, how about we meet at the end of the street? At about 10 to 9?"  
"Great! I'll see you tomorrow then!"

I walked out of the room and back through reception. As I got out into the cold air, I realised that my dream was finally coming true. I forgot about everything else that had happened over the past few months and focused on what lay ahead of me.

I reached my house, opened the door and placed my bag down on the sofa. Suddenly, I heard a noise coming from in the kitchen. "Hello?" I said as I walked in.

There, stood before me, was a man dressed in black from head to toe. I could see that he had a gun in one pocket and a knife in the other. I pulled my phone out of my pocket, but it was too late, he had already seen me. I dropped it as he turned around to face me. I tried to run, but my legs wouldn't move; they were stuck to the floor like a fly to jam.

I tried to look like I wasn't scared, but fear was already written all over my body. My hands were shaking and I felt my body heat up more than it had ever done before.

I stayed silent as he threw me to the floor. I sat up and tried not to look at him, but he pulled my chin up so that he could see my face.

"So, you finally decide to show your face!" He said in a deep-pitched voice. I stayed silent and tried to look away, but once again he grabbed by chin. "Look at me!" He shouted; his voice was so intimidating that a tear silently ran down my cheek. I didn't speak, as I knew my questions would only make matters worse.

I made a snap decision in my mind and from out of nowhere I plucked up the courage to speak. "Who are you? Why are you here?" I said as confidently as I could.  
"Questions... Questions... Questions... What makes you think I'm going to answer them?" He said  
"JUST DO IT!" I screamed.  
"Well... Who am I? I'm your worst nightmare! Why am I here? Let's just say... We have some unfinished business!"

With that, he picked something up off the table and through it at me. It skimmed the side of my face and I felt something trickle down my cheek. It dropped down onto my shirt. It was red and there was now continuous stream running down the side of my face and onto my clothes.

He laughed and walked out of the room.

He was out of the room of the room for a matter of minutes. He walked back in. My head had stopped bleeding now, but I was starting to feel the pain that it had left behind.

He laughed again and grabbed the front of my shirt, pulling me to my feet.

"Let go of me!" I said weakly. The pain that filled my body was now taking all of my energy, and I could barely speak.  
"You should be so lucky." He whispered in my ear.

I felt a sharp pain in my stomach then and I stood there, motionless, unable to move. He let go of me and I dropped to the floor, hitting my head on the cupboard behind me, knocking me unconscious.

I didn't remember anything after that. I kind of remembered smelling smoke before I passed out, but I had sustained quite a few head injuries so I wasn't sure what it was. I just lay there; unaware of what was happening around me.


	4. Don't Shoot

**(TOM'S POINT OF VIEW)**

I walked home after a quiet day at work. I'd been mentoring a new doctor, Ellie, everything she did was amazing and I'd never seen anything like it in my life.

I reached my front door and looked over the road at where Ellie lived. I could see smoke coming from the back of her house. It didn't look like a normal barbecue fire as the smoke was black and sooty and was rising higher than her house. Although it was only a small house, I was worried, so I went over to check everything was ok.

I knocked on the door; no answer. I knocked again; still no answer. I went round the back of the house to see if she was in the garden. There was no one there and I could now see that the smoke was coming from inside of the house.

I ran round to the front door and banged on it even louder this time, shouting her name, but still with no answer.

With all of my strength I managed to push the door open. I ran in shouting, "Ellie? Ellie? Are you in here?" Still no answer, this was serious now.

I looked at the door in front of me; there was black smoke creeping out underneath it. Knowing it would be hot; I picked up a coat from off the wall and covered the door handle with it.

Hurriedly, I pulled the door open, burning my hand in the process and ran in to see if she was in there.

The room was grey and I could see a bright orange glow coming from the room next door. Just in front of me I noticed a figure lying on the floor with its shoulders and head propped up by the cupboard behind it. All that was going through my head was hope that it wasn't here and if it was then she was alright. I ran over.

It was her.

"Ellie, Ellie can you hear me?" I said whilst trying to remember my training. Her whole body was covered in soot, burns and blood. I couldn't believe that this was the same cheerful girl I'd just met. She looked so much different now.

Suddenly someone pushed the door open and a black, hooded-figure walked in. "Get away from her!" He yelled.  
"I'm a doctor, I can help her!" I replied; he didn't exactly look like a friendly family member.  
"I don't care, get away!" He yelled even louder this time.  
"But she'll die if she doesn't get help soon! Please, just let me help her!" I replied; I couldn't believe he was telling me to leave her to die!  
"I said MOVE!" He bellowed much louder than he had before. He pulled out a gun from his pocket and pointed it at her stomach. "I'll shoot if you don't." I froze on the spot, unsure what to do. If I stayed he would shoot, if I moved then who knows what he would do.

I just sat there; motionless and not going anywhere. 3 large bangs sounded, echoing around the small house. He froze on the spot and didn't move either; he was clearly surprised at what he had just done. There was blood flowing from Ellie's stomach in a continuous flow now, and I knew that she would almost certainly die if I didn't do something soon.

The hooded figure dropped the gun, turned and ran out of the house. Part of me wanted to run after him and make sure he got what he deserved, but I knew I had to help Ellie.

The raging fire next door was quickly getting nearer to us and the heat was starting to consume my energy.

Knowing we both had very little time left, I picked Ellie up and carried her as quickly as I could out of the house. I saw that her neighbour had come to see what was happening and immediately told her to call the fire brigade.

I held her as I ran: one arm underneath her knees, the other supporting her head. My hands shook and ached from the burns that I had received when entering the house but I wasn't bothered about them. The only thing that bothered me now was that Ellie got the treatment she needed and survived.

As I reached the hospital Sam was stood outside on her break. "Sam!" I shouted from a distance. She noticed that I was carrying someone and shouted to Dixie who was just putting a trolley back into the ambulance.

Dixie brought the trolley over and I lay Ellie down. Blood was still streaming from her stomach and a few drips came from her head.

"What happened?" Sam asked.  
"This is Ellie Lawson, 21, house fire and victim of shooting and stabbing," I explained, "Laceration to the head, stab wound to the lower abdomen and 3 bullet wounds just above. Possible head injury, broken ribs and..." Sam interrupted me then, calling over Mr Jordan as she knew that this was a very serious case. "Carry on Tom." She told me and I began again.  
"Burns to her arms and legs and major smoke inhalation. She's been unconscious for a while now but I'm not sure quite how long. I've been with her for 30 minutes."  
"Has she been like this since you found her?" Sam asked.  
"Yes. I haven't had the chance to check her over yet though so I'm just telling you what I've seen."

"Thanks, Tom." Mr Jordan told me as he walked up to the trolley. "Is this Ellie Lawson?" He asked Sam.  
"Yeah, why? Do you know her?" She replied.  
"Yes. She started working here today. She's our new paediatric emergency medicine specialist, Tom's her mentor."  
"Oh." She said in amazement.


	5. Who Knows?

They rushed her into resus and hooked her up to the monitors whilst a crowd of doctors examined her. My body wouldn't move so I just stood there staring at her.

"Tom?" Nick called.  
"Yes, Mr Jordan." I replied.  
"You're not needed here anymore, so you can either leave or wait outside. But first, Lloyd?"  
"Yes, Mr Jordan!" A voice replied from a distance.  
"Can you check Dr Kent's hand and check his oxygen stats please."  
"Sure." Lloyd replied.  
"How had he noticed that I had burnt my hand?" I thought to myself as Lloyd ferried me off to cubicles.

He told me to sit down and wait whilst he got what he needed and I did as I was told. I was desperate to sneak out and go back to resus where Ellie was being treated; I just needed to know if she was going to be ok or not.

Lloyd returned with some equipment and hooked me up to the monitor, then started examining my hand. I knew it wouldn't be long before the questions started coming; and I was right.  
"What happened then?" Lloyd asked.  
"Ellie lives opposite me; I got home and noticed black smoke coming from her house, so I went to check that everything was alright. I got there and there was no answer, so I went round the back and noticed that there was a fire in her lounge. I broke down the door but it was smoky so I couldn't see much and as I touched the door handle I burnt my hand. I just found her lying on the floor in the kitchen." I told him with a sense of sadness in my voice.  
"Do you think she started it herself?" He questioned again.  
"No, there was a man there. He was dressed in black, so I couldn't see who he was or what he looked like. He shot her whilst I was there and I think he stabbed her as well. He must have tried to kill her; he wouldn't let me help her when I told him I was a doctor." I replied: a tear in my eye as I spoke.  
"Poor girl." He told me and I nodded.

"The wound isn't deep, so I'll clean and dress it. There's nothing wrong with your stats either, so you're free to go once I've finished." He told me as he finished unhooking me from the monitors.

About half an hour later, he finished dressing my hand and allowed me to go. I thanked him and left. The first place I went to was resus. I wanted to know how she was and I wasn't going to leave until I knew. She was the only thing that mattered now.

I got there just as Sam and Mr Jordan were talking outside. They stopped speaking when they saw me; there was obviously something they didn't want me to know. They both walked towards me and Mr Jordan walked past. He tried not to make eye-contact as he did. Sam came up to me and started speaking.  
"I'm guessing you're here about Ellie?" She asked; I nodded.  
"How is she?" I replied.  
"She's fine, for the moment at least. She has sustained many injuries which have caused internal bleeding. We've managed to stem it for the mean time while we wait for a theatre slot but we can't say how long that could be or whether she'll be able to hold on that long."  
"Ok, is she still unconscious?" I asked hesitantly.  
"Yes, we think she might be becoming comatose, so we've put her on a ventilator in case she does. Her oxygen levels are dangerously low though, so even if she wasn't we still would have put her on it." I just nodded. I couldn't believe what that stupid man had done to her and he was going to pay for it. "Would you like to see her?" She added.  
"If that's ok." I replied.

We walked through to where she was and I just stood there; amazed at how different she now looked. She was barely recognisable with the burns, blood and wires.

"She's lucky to be alive." Sam told me as she ran her hand down Ellie's arm. I walked over and sat down on the end of the bed. She was pale through the black and red that remained. "I don't know why he did this." I said.  
"Do you know who it was?" She asked.  
"No, he was wearing a balaclava, so I couldn't see his face."  
"Do you think she knows who it was?" Sam asked.  
"Who knows? She may do, but we won't know unless she tells us." I said, I felt like crying then, the way she just lay there, helpless, made me want to switch places her. I hadn't known her long but I felt like I knew so much about her already and she didn't deserve this from what I had learnt. A tear silently rolled down my face and I just stared at her face.

Sam walked around the bed and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "She'll be ok Tom, she's a fighter." Sam said. I turned my head to her with a confused look on my face.  
"What do you mean?" I asked her.

Sam handed me Ellie's patient notes and what I read next I would never have imagined.

**(MERRY CHRISTMAS! I'LL UPDATE MORE AFTER CHRISTMAS!)**


	6. Discovery

The folder was thick, so Ellie had obviously been admitted before. The first thing I did was check when she was first admitted. What I read shocked me.

_**PATIENT NAME: **__Ellie Lawson__**  
D.O.B: **__1st September 1991__**  
AGE: **__11years 11months__**  
DOCTOR IN CHARGE OF CARE: **__Doctor Adam Trueman__**  
DATE OF ADMITTANCE: **__31st August 2003__**  
REASON FOR ADMITTANCE: **__Victim of house fire__**  
INITIAL INJURIES: **__Burns, lacerations and bruising covering whole body. Worst lacerations are to face and lower abdomen. Worst burns are to right leg and chest. Major smoke inhalation. Comatose possibly due to head laceration or suffocation. __**  
OTHER NOTES: **__Found unconscious at scene of incident and pulled out of the house by a fireman on scene. Defibrillated twice due to cardiac arrest. Many more injuries suspected but examinations are on-going._

I turned to look at Sam who was stood updating some charts at the other end of the room. "She survived all that?" I asked in amazement; Sam just nodded.

"That's not the first time she was in hospital though," Sam explained as she handed me another small file, "this was before they updated the system, so it's not with the rest of the notes."

I opened it, inside were a few pages with small amounts of information on them. They were much different to the ones I had just read.

_**PATIENT NAME:**__ Ellie Lawson  
__**D.O.B:**__ 1st September 1991  
__**AGE:**__ 11years 11months  
__**DOCTOR IN CHARGE OF CARE:**__ Doctor Adam Trueman  
__**DATE OF ADMITTANCE:**__ 3rd August 2003  
__**REASON FOR ADMITTANCE:**__ Found alone on the street by a nurse  
__**INITIAL INJURIES:**__ Bruises covering various parts of her body, some old, others new. Patient says that these are from falling down the stairs, although actual cause is unknown.  
__**OTHER NOTES:**__ Missing from the hospital at 11:30am on 4th August 2003, not found._

'Not found'? What did that mean? Had she not returned to the hospital? Why?

I scanned through the rest of the notes looking at the various dates from when she had been admitted. '13th January 2003', '24th March 2003', '6th June 2003', '31st August 2003' and so the list went on. She had been admitted so many times, each time for weeks, sometimes months at a time. The dates started to spread out more as the years went on due to Ellie being admitted less.

Once again, I skipped to a page near the front of her notes; there was one particular word on that page that had caught my eye. "Cancer!?" I asked Sam with the little energy that still remained in my body.  
"Yeah, that's what I meant by 'she's a fighter'. She's got a form of cancer that's extremely rare, 1 in a billion people get it, and no one with it has ever lived past the age of 13. She's not giving up that easily!" She smiled a weak smile at me, and I returned it.

I sat looking at the notes for another hour or so, before handing them back to Sam who added yet more information.

The silence was broken in a matter of seconds as a team of nurses and anaesthetists walked through into resus. They were followed by a doctor who, on arriving, announced to Sam that theatre was ready for Ellie and that they would page her once they'd finished.

Quickly, I moved out of their way and watched as they wheeled Ellie out of resus and into the lift in reception. Sam saw the look of worry on my face and once again assured me that Ellie would get through this and would be back working as soon as she could.

"Will you page me when she's out of theatre?" I asked Sam, who proceeded to nod and then walk away, so that she could treat other patients. I also walked out of the room, although I went to the staff room, as my shift had finished several hours ago.

I sat down at far end of the room, knowing that it would be a while before Ellie was out of theatre. I thought about her; about her past childhood, her present condition and her future career. All three were uncertain to me. For a moment I thought about how I had only just met her, and I wondered why I cared so much about her. After all, I barely knew anything about her!

Once again hours passed, and I just sat thinking about everything that had happened. It was silent in the room, as no one had yet taken their break. So when my pager bleeped, it echoed around the room.

I knew that this would be when I found out whether Ellie would survive or whether she was gone.

**Sorry this is so short and took so long, but I couldn't of what I could write!  
Look out for my new FanFic where we meet Ellie for the first time and find out what her life was like when she lived with her parents! Coming to a near you soon! Grace xx**


	7. Family

I got up and walked out of the staff room. I could hear people whispering and mumbling things; they were all very bad at trying to hide who they were talking about.

I looked down and carried on walking, not looking back.

For saying that I was eager to see Ellie, and to know that she was ok, I walked surprisingly slowly. I was scared that there was no going back; that she was gone.

I didn't want that.

I barely knew her, but one thing I was sure of was that she was one inspirational person. Medical school at 15, cancer that should've killed her; she must have one strong family!

Family.

I thought about that word over and over again.

Family.

Of all the notes and various documents that I had read, not once did it mention her family; she hadn't mentioned it either. Was it that she had no family? Or was it just not visible through the hundreds of notes in her files and documents?

I would soon find out.

Her next of kin would have to be contacted and that would mean that I had little chance left of seeing her.

They wouldn't want me around, after all, I was just a stranger; a colleague who happened to be in the right place at the right time.

That was the last thing I needed to think about though. I approached the room in which Ellie was being monitored; the door leading to the room was slightly ajar, so I assumed that this was the correct room.

I knocked quietly, before entering the small, yet spacious, room.

She was the first thing that caught my eye.

Ellie was once again lying there, lifeless. She was no longer covered in the burns, blood and soot that had previously smothered her body, yet her deadly pale skin made her look as if all the blood had been drained from her body.

I glanced over to the side of the bed where there was a young woman sat in a chair, asleep.

It was Sam.

I didn't want to wake her, but I knew that if I didn't, I would have to wait to find out Ellie's fate.

I walked over to her and placed my hand on her arm; her eyes fluttered and she looked up at me, smiling slightly as she did.

"Hey..." She muttered drowsily.  
"How is she?" I asked nervously, as my eyes flicked between her and Ellie.  
"Surgery went alright, there were a fewer minor problems, but she should be okay from that perspective." She replied, more awake than she had been previously.  
"And from the other perspectives?" I added.  
"Well, she's stable..." Sam began, "but she's been through a lot and no one really knows how her body will cope with it all, especially after what she's been through in the past..."

Once again, I thought back to the notes; her family sprang to mind.

"What about next of kin? Have her parents been called?" I asked.  
Sam sighed; that wasn't a good sign...  
"Her...Ellie's parents both died in the house fire when she was 11; she's been alone ever since..." She replied sadly.  
"Siblings? Aunts? Uncles? Grandparents? Any family at all?"  
"Nothing..." Sam sighed; this wasn't easy to talk about.  
I paused, "So, she was in care?" I asked wearily, not taking my eyes off Ellie.  
"Yeah..." She replied. "I'm not sure, but I think she had a foster family at one point."  
"Really? For how long?" I questioned.  
"As I said, I'm not sure, but I don't think it was for long..." Sam hesitated, "there was an accident, the mother was seriously injured and her young son was killed... The family fell apart after that."

I sighed; Ellie really hadn't had an easy life.

"What about Ellie? Was she involved in the accident?" I continued, this time looking at Sam who was clearly finding it hard to put into words.  
"She almost died trying to save them..." She sighed. "You know, she always puts others before herself. No matter who it is, a murderer or a soldier, whether she has met them before or not, she will always put them before herself..."  
"You sound like you know her well..." I explained.  
Sam was quick to reply, "I don't, it's just from what I've read..." She smiled slightly, a nervous look on her face.

I ended the conversation there, as it was now clearly becoming hard for the both of us to speak about it.

"When do you think she'll wake up?" I asked hesitantly.  
"Her body's shut down," Sam replied, "she's fully comatose as well, so it could be days, weeks, possibly even months before she wakes up..."

I sighed, then nodded.

Ellie had a battle on her hands now, and if she didn't fight against it, there would be no going back.


	8. Hallucinations

Two long months passed by. Ellie kept making improvements; but every time there was a big leap forward, she took another step back.

Most of the ED staff had visited her, or had glanced through the window on their way passed; and it had become clear that she was very well known in the hospital.

I rarely left the hospital now, splitting my time between work in the ED and sitting with Ellie.

I knew that people had begun to say things about me, wondering why I cared so much about a girl that I barely knew. But that didn't bother me at all.

Honestly, I hadn't got much of an idea of what the answers to those questions were myself; all that mattered to me was that there was hope, and no one was giving up on her. She'd made it this far, and I was not going to let it all just slip away so quickly.

She would get through this; I would make sure of it.

I was barely awake when it happened...

It had been a busy shift in the ED and sleep was beginning to overcome me; my eyelids fluttering every few minutes, threatening to close.

Although, I was glad that I had saved the last of my energy for her.

No one had expected what happened; not this soon anyway...

Her body had been completely still for the past few months, so it all came as quite a surprise when it occurred.

I was sat next to her, watching her closely, as I fought to stay awake.

Sam was updating patient notes and monitoring Ellie; her face serious and concentrated.

There was a sudden movement of Ellie's eyelids, and a wave of silence fell across the room.

I noticed this and sat upright, suddenly more awake than I had previously been.

"Did you see that?" I asked Sam, staring at Ellie in the hope that she would move again.  
"See what?" Sam replied, confused.

Her eyelids twitched again.

"That!" I exclaimed, motioning towards Ellie. "Her eyes moved; I'm sure of it!"

Sam walked over and placed a hand on my shoulder. "You're tired, Tom. You should go home!"  
I sighed, "Yes, I am tired, but she moved! I know what I saw!"  
Sam sighed again; she really didn't believe me...

"Just watch. Then I'll tell you if I'm hallucinating!" I exclaimed; I was not going to let this drop.

Sam was also staring at Ellie now, eyes fixed, in the hope that she might finally be awaking from the unconscious state that had taken over her body.

There was no movement for a moment, and in those few seconds, I had never been more hopeful in my life. There was another twitch and the silence was broken by Sam's intrigued voice.

She walked around to the other side of the bed and stared at the monitors for a moment, before taking Ellie's hand in her own. "Ellie, can you squeeze my hand?" She asked.

Was this really happening?

Slowly, but surely, Ellie began to grip Sam's hand. She looked at me and smiled; half astounded, half excited.

"Okay," Sam continued, "can you open your eyes for me?"

Nothing.

There was a loud beeping sound from the monitor and Sam looked over. "Tom, take her hand." She whispered, not making eye-contact with me; a sense of worry in her voice.

I took it, unsure of whether this was a good idea; I was almost a stranger to Ellie, so surely she wouldn't want me around...

The beeping continued, as that same look of worry covered Sam's face.

Once again, she turned to Ellie. "It's okay, take your time." She soothed, "you've been through a lot, so just rest for now..."

The beeping quietened down, and both Ellie and Sam appeared to relax slightly; though clearly neither were relaxed on the inside.

Sam turned and walked away, sitting, once again, on the far side of the room. She was clearly amazed at what had just happened; and so was I.

After a long 2 months, Ellie was finally waking up; and for a moment I seemed to forget everything. Yet there was one thing still playing on my mind; Sam.

The way she acted around Ellie was different; I had never seen her like this before. She seemed to have some sort of connection with her; but I just couldn't figure out what it was.

Maybe they were sisters? Or family?

No, if they were then Sam would have said when she had told me about Ellie's family. Though, she had found it a hard topic to talk about, so it was a possibility...

What about friends? Maybe they were in the army together?

No, Ellie wasn't that sort of girl... Plus, she would have said something about it, surely?

I really had no idea about what it was; and it didn't look like I would be finding out any time soon.

But Ellie was finally waking up, and that meant that was even more hope of her making a full recovery. But would she make a full recovery? Would she even wake up fully?

Only time would tell...


End file.
